'Roger Federer wants to compete at the highest level but...', says ATP legend

The absence of Roger Federer has made itself felt a lot this year, in addition to the Coronavirus emergency that has brought almost the whole world to its knees. The Swiss phenomenon played only in the Australian Open in 2020, then deciding to have surgery twice on his right knee and to close his season early. The former World number 1, who will turn 40 in August 2021, has already targeted the Australian Open, but his big goals should be Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. From the words of Federer himself and members of his team, the retirement of the 20-time Grand Slam champion would still seem far away, a message of hope for his countless fans around the globe. In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Tim Henman admitted that it will not be easy for Roger to return to the top after a stoppage of almost a year. However, the new ranking system allowed the Swiss to remain in the Top 5.

Henman on Roger Federer

Tim Henman is hopeful that the Swiss Ace is on course to make a strong comeback at the Australian Open next year. In an interview with Tennnis365, Henman said, “We just have to hope Roger Federer’s rehabilitation goes well and he can get himself back to a good level if he does play at the Australian Open. He wants to compete at the highest level and it’s not going to get any easier for him. To compete at the highest level will be tough, but his eagerness to come back at the age of 39 is incredible,” the Englishman said. Henman said Federer still has the game to do an encore of his 2017 Australian Open win. Federer struggled with an injury before making a winning return to the Rod Laver Arena. “Roger Federer has achieved so much and has nothing to prove,” Henman said. “But he wants to come back and play again and it will be great for the sport if he can reach the level he expects of himself.” Federer has been the most significant trailblazer in modern tennis history, raising the standards and setting just about every record you can think of on the ATP Tour. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are slowly reigning in and surpassing those records now, but Federer says regardless of that he has massively exceeded his dreams. “I’m actually not quite sure exactly why I succeeded as much as I did,” Federer said in a Q&A video for BecomingX.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3nmOldD